Words Spoken Silently
by CrazyKitten2112
Summary: When the FAYZ wall becomes transparent, the families of the FAYZ kids flock to see what has happened to their relatives. Many interesting conversations unfold on the signs and messages of the FAYZ kids and their families. I wrote this story as part of the Gone Challenge. All characters and places belong to Michael Grant. Rated T for certain characters' backstories.
1. Mother of The Monster Bringer

**A/N: It really helps to be familiar with Penny's backstory for this fanfic. Her mother was an alcoholic, her dad took child pornography photos, and she had an older sister (Dahlia) and a younger sister (Rose). Her father got sent to jail where he eventually hung himself, and Penny, Rose, and Dahlia got sent to live with her Uncle Steve and Aunt Connie (not Connie Temple). Penny got sent to Coates Academy for putting Drano in Rose's cereal. If you want the full story you can find it in FEAR. I made up Penny's last name (Xiong), her mom's name (Janice), and her dad's name (Chet). Since all the communication is done on signs and there are no dialogue tags for that, Janice's signs are writing in **_**bold italics. **_**Everybody else's signs are just written in **_italics. _**Sorry my Author's Note was so long. Enjoy!**

I had been sober for two months when the anomaly went clear. I was so excited to see my daughter, Penny. I had been an alcoholic for most of her life, so I barely knew her. I had started drinking because of Chet's "hobby." That's what I had called it so I didn't have to think about what he was really doing.

I had learned about her death so suddenly. My brother Steve called me and told me the anomaly was clear, and that they had seen Penny on the news. Apparently, they hadn't had the heart to tell me what had really happened to her. I pulled up the internet. Before I could search "Penny Xiong Perdido Beach Anomaly" my homepage, Microsoft News, gave me exactly what I wanted. It was a photo album entitled "5 photos that will make you glad that you aren't in the Perdido Beach Anomaly."

My curiosity got the best of me and I looked at the album. I wanted to know about all the terrible stuff that my daughter had been strong enough to survive. The first picture in the countdown was a picture of a destroyed building. It had once been a church and most reports said that it had been destroyed with levitation by a boy named Caine Soren. The next picture was a monster made out of gravel. Most kids referred to him as Orc, but those he knew his real name said it was Charles Merriman. Despite his foreboding appearance, most kids said that he had been relatively harmless ever since he'd stopped drinking. I was proud of him. I knew from personal experience how hard it was to get sober after being an alcoholic. How had he done it without any AA meetings? The next picture in the slideshow depicted a boy with a long red snake for an arm. He had been identified as Drake Merwin, who was a certified sadist who had gone to Coates Academy with Penny. He was a few years older than her though, so she probably hadn't even known him. It was rumored that he uncontrollable changed into a girl named Britney Donegal. Both children had supposedly returned from the dead.

Then, I saw it. My daughter, Penny, lying on the pavement with her head cracked open by a cement block. There was nothing I could do to keep myself from breaking down in tears. I had wanted to drive down to Perdido Beach and reconnect with her. Now, I would never have the chance to do that.

The first thing I did was read the blurb that went along with Penny's picture in the album. This is what it said:

Penny Xiong was killed at twelve years old by sixteen year old Caine Soren. Most children interviewed stated that Xiong had gone insane long before the incident that lead up to her death where she was rumored to have encased Soren's hands in cement, stapled a tin foil crown to his head, and declared herself queen of the town. Xiong was reported to have powers of illusion, which she allegedly used for both good and evil. Both Xiong and Soren are disliked by a majority of the Anomaly's residents.

What had Penny done to be so disliked? I had to find out. I drove down to the anomaly with a nothing but a notebook, a red sharpie, a soft purple blanket, and a can of non-alcoholic beer to keep me company. By the time I was there I had finished my beverage, which would never taste as good as real beer, no matter how much I wanted it to. I sat down on the blanket like I was having a picnic. I used to permanent marker to write this message:

_**My name is Janice Xiong. My daughter Penny was just killed by Caine Soren. Could anybody tell me what she was like before she died?**_

It took about seven minutes for me to get a response. When I did get a response it was extremely disappointing.

_She was a creep. _

That's all they wrote before they walked off. The answers only got worse after that. I couldn't get more than one sign out of anyone. I was about to pack up and go home when I saw a floating notebook that said _Wait! Don't go! I can tell you about your daughter._

_**You can?**_

_Yeah._

I noticed that the pencil was moving by itself. This probably had to do with somebody's mutant powers. It could've been Caine Soren, but I doubt that he would want to sit down for a Q & A session about somebody he had killed. It had to be somebody else, with similar powers. Then again, this could all be some crazy hallucination and I was writing signs in response to nothing.

I held up my next sign.

_**How did you know my daughter?**_

There was a long pause, like the person was thinking of answer.

_We stayed on an island together with two other people._

_**Were you friends?**_

_No, not really._

_**When did you first meet? On this island?**_

_No, we both went to Coates Academy together, but we weren't in the same grade so we didn't talk until the FAYZ started. We were both on "Team Caine" as some people liked to call it. I didn't even know she existed until she developed her powers._

_**MSN said she had powers of illusion. What EXACTLY does that mean?**_

_It means that she could make people see, hear, smell, feel, and taste things that weren't really there. _

_**I see. What was she like?**_

_She was something else_

_**I heard she was insane. What drove her to it?**_

_Well, she had a crush on this guy, Caine Soren, but he didn't like her back. She kept it a secret until one day when we got to the island. She tried to tell him she was into him, but he didn't want to hear it because he was currently arguing with his girlfriend while trying kill some kids in a helicopter. _

_**And, why exactly was he trying to kill some kids in a helicopter?**_

_They had drugged him and tied him up._

_**So he decided to kill them?**_

_It wasn't his best decision, okay?_

_**Did he succeed?**_

_No. Now, back to your daughter. Penny tried to help Caine kill the helicopter kids, but he wanted to do it himself. So, Caine held Penny above the helicopter blades and threatened to drop her unless she stopped__ annoying him. Just FYI, in this situation "annoying him" meant threatening to torture people with her powers. Then his girlfriend, Diana, walked backwards off the cliff that we were all on, so Caine would save her instead of killing the helicopter kids. Caine saved her, but when he did that he had to drop your daughter. Both of her legs were broken, so we kept her in the bathroom and Diana took care of her. We're pretty sure that was what made her go from "more troubled than the average Coates kid" to "completely psychotic nut job."_

_**Did she ever get her legs fixed?**_

_Yeah. The Healer, Lana, used her powers to fix them when Caine took us all back to Perdido Beach._

_**And then what happened? **_

_Well Caine was the king of the town, so he was in charge of choosing people's punishments. When a boy named Cigar murdered another kid Caine sentenced him to a day being tortured by Penny. She took it too far and made him claw his own eyes out._

There was an awkward silence. I didn't think that was possible with signs.

_You look sick. Do you want me to continue?_

I just nodded. I needed to know what had happened to my crazy little girl.

_Okay, so this Cigar kid was a fisherman. All the fisherman are super close, so they went on strike until Caine, who was going by King Caine at the time, kicked Penny out of town. Caine went over to her house so they could negotiate the terms of her exile. Penny didn't really want to be exiled, though. She had something else in mind._

_**What did she do?**_

_Penny offered Caine a hot chocolate, and he'd obviously accepted it because NOBODY has hot chocolate nowadays. Caine didn't know this, but she had spiked his drink with a sleeping drug. When Caine woke up he wasn't wearing a shirt, had a tin foil crown stapled to his head, and his hands were stuck in cement. Penny paraded him around town and declared herself queen of Perdido Beach, but nobody went along with it and Quinn, the head fisherman, and Lana drove her out. _

_**How did she get killed?**_

_Well, Penny ran off to team up with Caine's ex-girlfriend Diana, ex-best friend Drake, and daughter Gaia (who's possessed by an evil alien virus called the Gaiaphage). Meanwhile, Caine was getting all the cement off of his hands. When "Team Gaiaphage" (we have a lot of teams here) showed up in town, we knew that we had to stop them. Caine saw your daughter, and she was trying to kill innocent children. Caine did what was best for the town and took her out._

Well, I had heard it. A warm salty tear streamed down my face. I was so ashamed of myself. If I would've raised her right, her Aunt and Uncle never would've had to send her to Coates, and none of this would've happened. I know it wasn't all my fault how Penny turned out. A large part of it was Chet's, and that Caine Soren kid definitely deserved some of the blame. Still, some of the fault was mine. I felt terrible. I wished I had never touched a damn beer in my life. Then I might've stopped Chet from taking those stupid pictures of the girls. If I would've been able to stop him then we'd all still be together. Chet would've never gotten sent to jail, and the girls wouldn't have been sent to live with Steve and Connie. If Chet would've never gone to jail, he wouldn't have killed himself. If the girls wouldn't have been sent away, Penny probably never would've put Drano in little Rose's cereal. Then she wouldn't have been sent to Coates and got trapped in the FAYZ. My dependency and Chet's "hobby" had destroyed our family.

_Are you okay?_

_**I just feel bad. It's mostly my fault she's so screwed up. **_

_Are you kidding? I was the one who really screwed her up._

_**What did you do?**_

_I killed her._

**A/N: So, what did you think? Did I surprise you, or did you know it was Caine? If so, when? I tried to make it seem like Janice was talking to Bug up until the end, but I did drop a couple of really subtle hints. I'm thinking about keeping this a one shot, but if you want more I could probably write at least one more chapter. Write a review if you have any questions or comments. If you liked this story please check out my others, and review them too! If you can't tell, I love getting reviews! Thank you for reading! **


	2. Panda's Parents

**A/N: This is chapter is from the point of view of Anthony Lennox. Any signs made by him and his wife Margret are written in **_**bold italics**_**, as applied to Janice Xiong last time. From now on, just assume that any signs written by the parents who are telling the story are written in **_**bold italics **_**while the rest of the signs are just written in **_italics_**. This chapter does not have a surprise ending like the last one, but there is a lot of dramatic irony (where you know something that characters don't).**

Me and my wife, Margaret had been one of the families lucky enough to actually be at the barrier when the Anomaly had gone clear. At first, we had searched the crowds of children for our son, Torey. We just kept scanning the crowd until Wendy Yang, the overly bubbly Asian woman who had told almost everyone she could find her daughter Taylor's life story, gave us some poster board so that we could make a sign. We couldn't think of anything better to write than this:

_**Our names are Anthony and Margret Lennox. Our son Torey lives in Perdido Beach. If you know him, could you please find him for us? If he's unavailable, tell us anything you know about him.**_

The first day had been a waste. We weren't the only ones who Wendy had given poster board. Almost everyone else outside the anomaly had a sign. Nobody saw our sign, much less responded to it, so the next day Margret and I had a different strategy. We decided to walk around the bubble in hopes of finding somebody who knew something about our son. We didn't see anybody until we walked to the desert. It was striking a girl who had messy dark brown hair and brown eyes. She was covered in dirt and going to the bathroom behind a bush. When she was done doing her business, she stepped out from behind the bush and started throwing rocks and sand at us.

_**Tell us anything you know about our son and we'll leave you alone**__,_ I wrote on the notebook I had brought, while Margret held up our sign.

The girl gave us the "one minute" gesture, and walked off. She quickly returned with a large stick, which she started using to write her response in the sand.

_The only thing I know about your son is that he has a girl's name. He probably gave himself a nickname when the FAYZ started. There was tons of kids who did that._

_**Good to know. Did you ever come across a kid with dark circles around his eyes, even once? We've trying really hard to find him, or at least find out what happened to him, but nobody seems to know him.**_

_That's because he didn't go by Torey. He went by Panda._

_**I'm assuming you know him, then.**_

_You could say that._

_**When did you first meet?**_

_I barely remember. We definitely weren't friends. _

_**Can you try and remember?**_

_Sure._

The girl spent a couple of seconds in a state of recollection before writing her answer.

_We first met when my sociopathic ex-boyfriend took over Perdido Beach the first time. Panda, I mean, Torey, joined forces with us for some reason._

Torey was probably scared of this older boy who become the dictator of the only town he'd ever lived in. He'd most likely known that if he couldn't beat him, he would've had to join him. Torey had always been a follower. Unfortunately, he never seemed to follow the right group. He was always seemed to be involved with a different crowd of bullies.

_**Is that all that you know about him?**_

_Not exactly._

_**Is he still alive?**_

_No. _

_**How did he die?**_

_I don't even remember! I hate myself for it. All of my ex-boyfriend's lackeys died besides me and a boy named Bug. There were so many deaths that I couldn't remember how everyone died specifically. I think Panda's had something to do with a car. _

_**Would this Bug kid or your ex-boyfriend know anything about Torey?**_

_No, Bug can turn invisible. You'd never find him, much less get him to talk. Caine knows what happened, but treats it like it's no big deal, but it was. It was the biggest deal that I ever had to be a part of._

_**Are you talking about his death?**_

_No. I'll tell you what I am talking about, if you two promise not to tell anyone. Ever._

I looked at Margret, who nodded in agreement. We were going to keep this a secret. After all, it couldn't be that bad. They were all just children.

_**We promise.**_

_Alright, I just wanna start by saying that this was the worst thing I have ever done and I'm probably going to feel bad about it until the day I die. I'm really, really sorry that you have to hear this. I need start off by saying that I'm super, super sorry! No, that doesn't even begin to describe it. I don't think that anybody outside the FAYZ will ever understand how terrible I feel. But how could they? They were never so starving that they had to eat somebody?_

What had this girl said? Eat somebody? Had she eaten my son? It couldn't be true. It just couldn't! I looked over at Margret. She had tears streaming down her face. I went over to comfort her, but I ended up crying along with her.

I pulled out the paper to write a new sign, when I saw two others walk into view. I couldn't make out any faces, but I could tell that one of them was a boy with a very strange right arm and the other was a young girl. The little girl cupped her hands to her mouth like she was yelling something, and the older girl I had been communicating with yelled something in response. She quickly removed her message to us by shuffling over it.

"Tell no one!" the dark haired girl mouthed, pointing at us with an angry expression on her face.

She was trying to seem threatening, but it wasn't exactly working since she was crying, too. She wiped away her tears, and turned around to join the other kid. As they walked along, the teenage girl's companions came closer and I saw them a little bit better. The little girl looked like she was the first girl's younger sister. They older boy looked completely unrelated and had a strange red tentacle for an arm. It would've shocked me, if I hadn't just learned that my son had been eaten by his starving peers.


	3. Like Mother, Like Daughter

**A/N: Thank you for all the fabulous reviews you've given that story. I'm sorry it's taken so long to update, but I've been working another story called "The Rise to Power." It's set at Coates Academy right before the FAYZ begins. Caine is running for class president with Drake as his VP and Diana as his campaign manager. Everything is going good, or as good as it can for Coates, until all the teachers mysteriously disappear. Please read and review it. On the topic of this story, the next chapter is going to be about Caine's adoptive parents. (YAY!)**

The day that the Perdido Beach Anomaly became transparent I was standing outside of it talking to the tragically named Ellen Ellison. Both of us had been stay at home moms with nothing better to do then stand outside the anomaly and worry about our daughters. Over time, I'd like to say we became friends. My husband, David Yang, even gave her husband a temporary job at his company. It was a simple assembly line job, but Ellen reported that it kept food on the table. Plus, Erick Ellison was only doing the job until he could get hired by another nuclear power plant.

"Why does it seem like everybody hates my daughter, yet nobody knows what happened to her?" I wondered.

"The only thing that the kids in there have to say about her is that she kissed my daughter's boyfriend," Ellen replied.

"How old is your daughter?" I asked, "I forgot."

"She turned 15 inside the anomaly," Ellen informed me.

"And isn't she dating Sam Temple, the oldest boy in the FAYZ?" I inquired nervously.

Ellen nodded.

"What the hell is my daughter doing in there!?" I wondered exasperatedly.

"You know I don't appreciate the use of terms like that," Ellen told me. She was an extremely devout Christian.

"Sorry," I apologized.

"Don't worry about it," my friend replied, "Even Erick slips up sometimes."

I looked into the dome. I saw so many names on signs. Sam Temple, Caine Soren, Edilio Escobar, Drake Merwin, Dekka Talent, Quinn Gaither, Lana Lazar, Diana Ladris, Albert Hillsborough, Astrid Ellison, Britney Donegal, and somebody named The Breeze. I couldn't help but wonder what these children's families would say to their kids if given the chance.

I whipped out my laptop, which I had recently started using to communicate with the children of the PBA. I navigated my way to Facebook and formed a group called "Anomaly Families." Then I started looking up who these children's parents were. I requested each parent to join my new group. It took a while to send group invites to Constance Temple, Daniel Soren, Miranda Hathaway Soren, Consuela Escobar, Bernardo Escobar, Amelia Fielding Merwin Stanton, Charles Merwin, Jason Stanton, Damien Talent, Keisha Talent, William Gaither, Magnolia "Maggie" Gaither, Murray Lazar, Deborah Lazar, Lawrence Ladris, Charlotte Scottsworth Ladris, Grace Hillsborough, Erick Ellison, Ellen Ellison, Geoffrey Donegal, Brenda Donegal, Stanley Kelley, Amber Kelley Fisk, and George Fisk. Then, realizing I'd forgotten my own husband, I sent a request to Ryan Yang.

The first person to join my group was Ryan, of course. The next people were the Gaithers, who were followed by the Lazars, the Ellisons, the Kelleys, and Grace Hillsborough. The next day, Constance Temple not only joined, but also invited a woman named Dr. Albana Baidoo. Later that day, the Donegals and a couple with the last name of Booker confirmed their place in the group. The day after that, both the Escobars and the Sorens officially became "Anomaly Families." On day number four, the families Ladris, Talent, and Merwin had all become club members. Along with those families, a woman with the last name of Merriman and a few people surnamed Bassem had also joined.

Yesterday, the number of people in my group was surprisingly high. After only five days of existence, my group already had more than a hundred people in it. There were people with last names that I'd never heard before such as Pettijohn, Terrafino, and Glider. Those weren't the surnames that excited me, though. There were two last names that made me scream and jump around the room like Taylor would've, had she been here. Those names were Brattle and Chance. That's right, my little group had attracted actual movie stars in less than a week.

Now, here I was, sitting in front of my computer thinking of something to post. I had an idea, but I was going to need Ryan's approval to go through with it.

"Are you coming up to bed, Wendy?" my husband wondered sweetly.

"Almost," I replied, "I just wanted to offer something on my Facebook group."

"What is it, my darling?" Ryan wondered.

"I wanted to invite hold a family reunion of sorts, with all of the families in the group," I explained.

"All of them?" Ryan wondered, "Isn't that a little bit over the top?"

"Yeah," I replied, "Well, it's not like we'd pay for them to show up, we would just set a couple of tables outside the anomaly and hand out food or something. It would be a great incentive to bring people who haven't been down to the anomaly yet to Perdido Beach so they can reconnect with their families."

"That sounds great, but we're going need some help organizing the event," Ryan told me. He was the intellectual realist that made my crazy schemes and projects possible.

"I guess you're right," I admitted without reluctance.

"You guess?" Ryan teased, bending over to kiss me on the cheek, "Meet me in bed when you're done creating your event, darling."


	4. Pros & Connies

**A/N: This chapter is a little bit different than most of the other chapters in this story, but I hope you still like it. Like chapter two, it has a lot of dramatic irony. Sorry of you hate the chapter title. I happen to think it's "punny." (That's right, I went there.) ****Thanks for reading! Enjoy.**

"Are you sure this is the right place?" a tall, good-looking woman in her mid-thirties asked a man who seemed to be her husband.

"No, Miranda. We made a wrong turn and ended up at the San Francisco Anomaly," the man grumbled sarcastically.

"Don't take that tone with me, Daniel!" Miranda spat, "I was just confused because this doesn't really look like a family reunion to me."

"Well, the Facebook post says that this was the place!" Daniel defended himself.

"Are you looking for the family reunion thing that Wendy Yang set up?" I wondered.

"Yes," Daniel answered authoritatively.

"I think she set it up a little ways down the wall," I replied, "I was just heading down there now. Can I walk with you?"

"Of course," Miranda replied, happy to oblige.

"So, I assume you two are married," I stated as Daniel, Miranda, and I walked down to Wendy's get to together.

"Since I was twenty one years old and he was twenty five," Miranda replied with some happiness in her voice, but not what most people would deem enough.

"That makes it 16 wonderful years," Daniel declared joyfully.

"Daniel!" Miranda gasped, "You just announced my age to the entire world in broad daylight!"

"It's okay, bluebird," Daniel comforted his wife suavely, "Most people won't care enough to figure out exactly how old you are. Even if they do, you're aging beautifully. They'll probably won't believe that's your real age."

"Definitely, I never would thought that you were 37!" I lied to preserve her feelings.

In less than five minutes we saw one of the white tents people set up at weddings and graduations. When we arrived at it Wendy Yang ran, no bounced, out to meet me.

"Connie darling! I'm so glad that you came!" Wendy squealed, squeezing the life out of me in a giant hug. She was the one of the most immature women I had ever met. Her body was at least thirty years old, but her brain was perpetually frozen in the mindset of a middle school girl.

"Do you know her?" Miranda wondered quietly.

"Yes, but not well," I responded. That was an understatement. I had only met her once before when she had handed me a crumpled piece of poster board. Then, I realized that she was only acting so chummy with me because of my sons. Sam and Caine were two of the most important people in the anomaly.

"Oh, and who are your friends?" Wendy wondered. The amount of enthusiasm in her voice should've been forced, but it didn't seem to be.

"I'm Daniel Soren, and this is my wife Miranda," Daniel introduced himself as he encased Wendy's hand in between his for a double handed shake.

Soren? Did he just say Soren? This wasn't happening. Caine's adoptive parents were standing right next to me. I had to take a second look at them. Daniel had extremely dark hair that was only a shade away from black. He didn't have Caine's looks, but his spouse did. Daniel must've met Miranda Hathaway by Google searching "trophy wife." Despite being a little bit paler than most Californians, she was still a very beautiful woman. She had long wavy brown hair that went down to her waist. She had small delicate facial features that actually looked very pretty on her.

I could easily see how a young Caine could believe they were his parents, but anybody who had graduated seventh grade biology class should've been able to figure out that the Sorens weren't Caine's biological parents. Caine had my late husband's brown eyes, but both of his parents' eyes were sapphire blue. The gene for blue eyes is recessive, while the gene for brown eyes is dominant. Two people with blue eyes could only have a blue eyed child. How had Caine never realized that?

Wait, he had. I can't believe that I'd forgotten one of my few conversations with my long lost son. Caine had a "migraine" and "desperately needed" an aspirin. That meant he had a headache and thought that he could manipulate some pain killers out of me. He technically could, but not in the way that he thought. I didn't believe his lies for one fraction of a second. He pulled the same trick almost every time he felt the tiniest twinge of pain. Still, I couldn't look my baby boy in those eyes, my husband's eyes, and tell him that he had to suffer. His innocent little kid scam got me every time.

Now that the memory had resurfaced in my mind, I could remember every detail. Even, the way that he'd smirked at me when I'd handed him his aspirin. It didn't look gracious, but it never looked gracious. Yet, it lacked its usual victorious haughtiness. I knew something was troubling him. Call it whatever you want, but I believed it was maternal instinct.

"What's wrong, son?" I asked. I could call him son, just this once. Caine wouldn't know what it really meant to me. He wouldn't be able to hear my heart breaking as the tiny three letter word spilt out of my mouth.

"Nothing, why would you think something's wrong?" Caine asked. He sounded convincing, but not convincing enough for me.

"I have a fourteen year old son, Caine. I know exactly how to tell when boys your age have something bothering them," I told him. It was completely true, but it felt like a lie.

"It's really nothing," Caine told me, "I just can't figure something out, and it's bugging me."

"Well, I might be able to help you get to the bottom of it," I offered.

"Well, you do need biology to be a nurse. I guess you could help me out," my son concluded, "My class was reviewing genetics and the example that we used was eye color."

"Was it confusing? Do you want me to help you with your homework?" I offered, hoping for some sort of connection to him.

"Um…I think that would be cheating," Caine responded, "That wasn't even what was on my mind. I was only trying to figure out how I could end up with brown eyes when my parents both have blue eyes."

This was my moment. I could tell him everything, but at what cost? I was already so far from him. I don't know how I would be able to live any further away. I knew that he'd be hurt if he found out that I had chosen Sam over him. And, if by some small chance he wasn't, there would be other complications. What if he wanted to come live with me? How would his adoptive parents feel about that? Could I even afford to take care of him? What would having a bad influence like Caine for a brother do to Sam? He was such a good boy.

"I'm sorry, but I honestly have no idea," I apologized, "Maybe it's some sort of genetic mutation."

"That's probable," Caine answered, smirking once again, "It's very likely that I could be mutated."


	5. Raising Caine

**A/N: Let me start by saying this, be thankful that your parents love you. Also, I wrote part of this story while listening to Over the Love by Florence + The Machine. I highly suggest listening to that song while reading this chapter. The song doesn't really work for this chapter, but it sure sounds trippy playing in the background.**

He had actually come. I was honestly hoping that he would refuse to show up so Miranda and I could go home. Unfortunately, my adopted son had to use his favorite skill, the ability to do exactly what we didn't want him to. I stood between two women, my wife and Connie Temple. We were both looking through the wall of the Perdido Beach Anomaly at our son.

Caine smirked at us and held up one of those hand held whiteboards. I expected some sort of I miss you, or maybe even an apology. Instead, this is what I saw:

_Long time, no see._

Miranda furiously started scribbling away in her notebook. I knew it would be best not to look at the message she'd thought up when she held it up. Connie didn't know Miranda like I did, so she made the mistake of looking at what my wife had written down. The look of shock on Connie's face said it all. My wife had pulled out all the stops in a fury powered ode to profanity.

_Wow, Miranda. I never knew you felt that way. And what happened to your no swearing policy? I thought it was "stone solid". With "no exceptions." Do you have to ground yourself now?_

My wife was quivering with rage. She'd probably hoped that the FAYZ would've changed our problem son for the better, but we'd learned our lesson. He was a heartless killer. The only one who had said anything that was even remotely good about him on the news was a boy named Tyler who had "Meh, he's fine. The guy's clever. You just gotta know how to talk to him. He could probably break the record for the world's shortest temper, and on top of that the dude has levitation. That's a seriously bad combination."

Miranda had already started writing responding to his message, I put my hand on her arm as signal to stop. I lifted my own notebook in front of my face.

_**We didn't come here for some big emotional talk, Caine.**_

_Well, obviously not. First of all, you're talking with me. I don't do emotions, especially not with idiots like you. Secondly, your wife's little essay made that pretty clear._

_**I don't want any of your snark, young man. We've read the articles. Everyone has. You're probably the most hated person in the entire country. **_

_Really, I am? I had no idea. I thought people loved me for trying to kill my own brother._

Connie's eyes went wide when she heard that.

_Oh, c'mon, Connie. You had to know about that. It's probably all over the internet. _

Connie held up her notebook, which simply read _I didn't._

_Seriously? You didn't even care enough to Google my name? _

Connie shook her head shamefully.

_I bet you looked up Sam, though. Didn't you?_

_Well, there were pictures of him burning a baby! It was so unlike him! I had to try and figure out what was going on._

_And the fact that I killed somebody wasn't enough to get your attention? Dammit! What does a guy have to do to get noticed nowadays?_

I couldn't sit back and watch the boy that I'd attempted to raise make jokes like this. I could understand a touch of gallows humor, but Caine was taking it too far. I pulled my notebook out and wrote this message:

_**Caine Soren. I do not appreciate this kind of humor. Apparently, it wasn't enough to end these people's lives, you had to make jokes about it to. You are the most disrespectful, villainous, manipulative, and conniving little bastard I've ever met. As you should be able to tell, your mother agrees with me. Neither of us wants to be associated with you anymore. As of right now you are no longer our son.**_

I threw my notebook onto the ground and stormed off. Miranda followed obediently, glaring over her shoulder at Caine.

"Stop!" A woman, whose voice I couldn't recognize, called.

I turned around to see a skinny Asian woman with long, black hair and a face that looked like it had been suffering for years.

"Did you two tell your son this?" She asked me and my wife, holding up our notebooks.

"Yes," I answered formally, "It's what the boy needed to hear."

"That might just be true, I don't know him well enough to determine that," the woman began relatively angrily, "What I do know, however, is that no child, no matter how terrible they may be, should have to hear that from their own parents."

"Well, we're not his parents, so that doesn't apply to us," I replied.

"You're seriously going to pretend that your wife didn't give birth to him?" she wondered.

"I didn't give birth to him, you judgmental bitch. She did," Miranda countered, pointing at Connie.

"Did you sign his adoption papers, then?" the "judgmental bitch" wondered.

"Yes, we did," I responded, "Unfortunately, I can't deny that."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" the woman asked.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Miranda inquired, "You think you have the right to come in here and tell us how to feel about our son. You don't know how hard we have it."

"How hard you have it? How do a wealthy business man and his beautiful wife have it hard because they don't love their son? You have something alright, but you definitely don't have a tough life."

"We most definitely do! You have no right to call us out because we don't love our murderous little shit of a son!"

"Really, because I've been doing some research. It turns out my daughter, Penny, used her powers to make somebody scratch his own eyes out. I don't love her any less for it. Do you want to know why?"

"Not really," I responded.

"All I want is to get away from the psychopath who wants to get me sent to jail for bad parenting!" Miranda added.

"I don't love her any less because it was my fault that she turned out that way!" the crazy lady shouted, "I was an alcoholic for her entire life. I let my husband, Chet, do some very bad things to Penny and her sisters. It was me and Chet's fault she was troubled, and if she was never troubled she never would've been sent to Coates. If she was never sent to Coates she would've never been stuck in the FAYZ where she went crazy and was killed."

"By our son," I reminded her.

There was uneasy moment in which no one spoke.

"Seriously, why are you defending him?" Miranda asked the woman who had created one of the many lives my son has so brutally ended.

"Because there are no bad children. Only bad parents."

**A/N: So, what does you think? Do you think Penny's mom had the right to call out Caine's parents? If so, would you do the same? Wow, school starting back up must've jacked with my brain. That sounds like some sort of lit circle question. Also, does anybody want to read a chapter about what Caine and Connie talked about, or are you guys sick and tired of hearing about Caine? **


	6. The King of Loneliness

**A/N: Mistystarshine wasn't tired of hearing about Caine yet, and so that makes at least two of us! After this chapter, I promise that'll move on to Caine and write about Drake (who lots of you have said you want to hear about). My plan for this story is this chapter here, one about Drake's mom, another from the POV of The Breeze's little sisters, a chapter about Lana's family, and some sort of ending with all the families who were in the story getting together as part of Wendy's family reunion. Please tell me what you think of this plan. I'm kind of trying to wrap this story up so I can start on another one (which will also be about GONE because I have an unhealthy obsession with it).**

After my fake parents stormed off, Connie and I stood there for almost a whole minute of awkward silence. Well, really awkward silence, since this whole "conversation" was technically an awkward silence.

Nurse Connie Temple held up her notebook which simply read _sorry._

_**About what?**_

_Your parents. _

_**They weren't my parents. Never were, never will be.**_

There was yet another really awkward silence, before I wrote something on my white board and held it up.

_**And neither will you.**_

_Then who is your family?_

_**No one. Family just slows you down. The only reason that a king would need family would be if he wanted an heir to continue his legacy after he dies. I already have one of those, and it isn't turning out very good.**_

_YOU WHAT!?_

_**Seriously, you didn't even know THAT? **_

_No…who's the mother?_

_**Diana.**_

_That girl you had a crush in back at Coates?_

_**You knew about that?**_

_Caine, I'm pretty sure you could survey every last student, teacher, and faculty member who went to Coates Academy and they would all "know about that." You did whatever she said._

_**No I didn't!**_

I could deny it on paper, but within my own mind I knew it was true. Diana had me wrapped around her finger from the moment we'd met. I even did her homework for her once, okay, more than once. The sick, twisted thing was that I looked back at those days as happy ones. I'm pretty sure that god gave humans emotions, especially love, as some sort of cruel joke. He probably spends his days up in heaven sitting on a big arm chair made out of clouds, cracking up at all the hilariously terrible things that he's doing to his creations.

_You said that you're heir "isn't turning out very good." What did you mean by that?_

_**Well, first of all I never really wanted a kid. I'm not really sure how I would feel about it, if she was normal, but luckily I don't have to make that decision. Diana left me almost the second she found out she was pregnant. About four to five months later I found out that she's given birth to beautiful baby girl that she somehow managed to get possessed by the freaking Gaiaphage!**_

_Gaiaphage?_

_**Oh my god! You are such an idiot! The Gaiaphage is the spawn of the devil. It's some sort of alien monster virus thing that used to live in mineshaft and eat uranium. Now it lives in rapidly growing little girl named Gaia's body and eats who knows what. She seems to be extremely powerful, pure evil, and the only thing left in the FAYZ that's more powerful than I am.**_

_The only thing left? What used to be more powerful than you? (And don't worry, I know all about your levitation)._

_**You know about my levitation? Go Connie! Who cares that you didn't know about my girlfriend, all of the people I tried to kill, all of the people I did kill, and the fact that I had a child? You knew about the powers that the entire world probably knows I have. You deserve a freaking medal.**_

_Answer my question._

_**Fine, there was this autistic little boy named Pete. His powers were off the charts. He could do almost anything, but he didn't have any control over it.**_

_Wait, you killed an autistic little boy?!_

_**Actually, no I didn't. Your favorite son's sweet angelic little girlfriend, Astrid, did. Do you know what the best part is? Pete was her little brother?**_

Connie's eyes widened at that one. I held up a sign that said:

_**You should just turn around and go home. You'll never be able to understand all the crazy shit that goes on in this hell hole. No one will, nit even the people inside it. We're all just strapped in for the ride until we either poof or die, and the second option is way more likely.**_

_I had already figured that last part out._

_**Damn, you're just going for the Nobel Prize, aren't you? Personally, I think you deserve to win. You've made so many amazing strides in the field of stating the obvious!**_

_Don't take that tone with me, young man!_

_**We're writing things down. There are no tones. **_

_Then drop the attitude._

_**Why not? I don't owe you anything. Out of all the things that screwed me up, you did the second worse job. Sorry you couldn't beat the Gaiaphage, but it can do some crazy things that even I can't explain.**_

_You're wrong, Caine. You were the only one who screwed yourself up._

_**I bet that's what you tell yourself late at night so you can fall asleep without a guilty conscience. **_

_I happen to believe that it's true._

_**Well, good for you! Too bad I don't really care what you think.**_

_You don't care what anyone thinks._

_**Tell me something I don't know.**_

_Alright, I will. You need other people to survive. There's a reason humans live together Caine, it's because we need each other. We need the love, comfort, and support of at least one other person. _

_**I don't. I never have, and I most definitely never will. I'm no fool, I can look at for myself just fine! I don't need a mother, a father, a brother, a daughter, or even friends.**_

_Then why did you come here? _

I thought Diana would've been here. Well, it wasn't so much of a thought as much of a hope. I knew she didn't get along with her parents, but maybe she had a cousin that she really wanted to see, or something. I knew it was a longshot, but going out to look for her was better than sulking in my lair, right? I didn't exactly have an airtight schedule nowadays, most of my subjects were just sitting by the wall crying, anyway. I would be doing my job better down here than in Perdido Beach. I'd tell Connie that last part. It wouldn't make me seem sappy and weak, like that thing about Diana would.


	7. Merwin's Mother

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my mom. She's the kind of wonderful person who sees the good in everything and everyone. I know that she'd love me even if I was a murderous psychopath.**

The stories that I'd heard about my son had not been pleasant ones. The happiest piece of news that I'd heard from his "friends" in the anomaly was that he was wandering the desert with some sort of demon baby. I probably shouldn't have gone looking for him, but the barrier would be there to protect me. It took all day, but eventually I found him.

I couldn't think of anything to write on my notebook, so I went with this:

_**Hi, Drake. It's been a long time since I've seen you. I've heard a lot of stories about you from the other children. It seems like nothing's changed much, except the arm. **_

Drake looked at me, angrily confused. He shouted something, but I couldn't hear him since he was on the other side of the wall. The girl who was standing next to him teasingly offered him a stick, which he used to hit her over the head before responding. When he did write something in response, I couldn't tell what it said. Everything was just scribbles. I made the universal gesture for "what?"

Instead of a response from either of the teenagers, they both started arguing. I couldn't tell if they were a squabbling couple or just "frenemies." Personally, it was hard for me to imagine Drake in either of those relationship, especially the former. Yet, here I stood, watching my friend argue with a girl who must've been gorgeous before she faced starvation in the anomaly. When they were done fighting, the girl had a bloody lip and the writing stick, which she used to write this message.

_My name is Diana Ladris. I'll be writing Drake's messages for him since he's too stupid to learn how to write with his left hand._

_**Thank you for your help, Diana. Don't bother me for prying, but what's your relationship with my son?**_

She had to think about that for a moment.

_We're definitely not friends, but we always seem to be forced to hang out with each other. For a demented sadist, I've learned to put up with him._

That was good progress for my son. If I hadn't heard the stories, I would've believed that the FAYZ had changed him for the better.

_**Is there anything Drake wants to tell me about?**_

Drake started talking to Diana. He seemed angry, but I was still anxious to hear what he said. I was disappointed when all Diana wrote was:

_He does, but I'm not sure if you want to hear it. Anything you want to tell him about._

_**I was wondering if Drake would agree to meet her once a week so he could talk to a counselor. I have the number of a very good psychologist.**_

My suggestion made Drake break down laughing.

_He's seriously considering it._

_**That was sarcasm, right?**_

_Nope, I'm just really unobservant._

_**Is there any way you could convince him to come.**_

_Well, if we had some chains and a death wish I could try to chain him to a cactus, but he still wouldn't be able to communicate with the shrink._

_**Well, you could write for him, like you're doing now.**_

_I could also change my name to Burt, cover myself in wet sand, and try to become a singer/song writer._

_**I'm assuming that's a no.**_

_Your skills of deduction are impressive, Sherlock._

How had this girl not died yet? I never really understood how my son's brain worked, but I understood one thing. He could not stand being teased.

_**This is a slightly invasive question, but do you feel safe around my son?**_

_Hell no, but that doesn't mean I'm some defenseless little flower who can't keep herself protected. I know how to survive._

Suddenly, my son started to transform into a younger girl. She was a pudgy little thing with braces, glasses, and pimples on her face.

_**You're Brittney, aren't you?**_

Diana handed her the writing stick so she could write _Yes, I am._

_**So, what's it like when my son takes over? Do you have any form of control?**_

_No, it's almost like I'm sleeping._

_**What's it like in during the transformation?**_

_Strange. I can feel myself slowly fading away._

_**Did you know Drake before you were the same person?**_

_No, not really. I knew of him, but I didn't know him. I guess that's still the way it is now. I can't really talk to him, but I know about everything he does. It's strange. It almost feels like I'm stalking him sometimes._

The eerie silence that I'd gotten used to, was suddenly shattered by a grown man calling out "Britney Boo!"

I turned my head in the direction of his voice to see two very overweight people stumbling towards me. They were obviously Brittney's parents. They had the same hair, the same eyes, the same weight, and even the same glasses. It was almost as unnerving as the matching T-shirts with Brittney's face on them that read "_has anybody seen our Brittney Boo?"_

As I watched Brittney tearfully reconnecting with her parents, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Drake and I would never have the same bond that Britney did with her parents. I didn't really need to be that close, but I do wish Drake would return some of the love that I've felt for him over the last fifteen years. That's right, I loved him. He was a monstrous psychopath, but that didn't change anything. He was still my son, and I was still his mother.


	8. Nursing Animosity

**A/N: I've gotten requests for Diana's parents to be in the story, so I'll be adding them. After this chapter I'll be continuing as planed (The Breeze's little sisters, Lana's dad, and an ending). I'm also considering writing one about Dekka. If you want to hear about her or anyone else, please leave a review. **

Charlotte Ladris probably didn't want to see her daughter, but there was the benefit of the doubt. That's why I had put Charlotte into a wheelchair and taken her down to the Perdido Beach Anomaly. Plus, I didn't want to be impolite. Charlotte had been invited to some sort of family reunion as part of the Anomaly Families group that I'd joined for her. Even though Charlotte was no longer functional, I still managed her Facebook profile for her.

Honestly, that aspect of my job was kind of fun. I could go online and pretend to be a younger woman who was much prettier and wealthier than I had ever been. I got to pretend like I was living the dramatic life of a wealthy socialite. Even if she was crippled, I had fun with it. Most of the time the posts were things like _**eating delicious asparagus soup with Agatha Eustace**_, but I enjoyed them anyway. Today would be different, though. I could post about Charlotte's reconnection with her daughter Diana.

I had a very uneasy relationship with Diana. She would make fun of me, I would lecture her for not listening to her rules. The only good thing she really did for the family was attract lecherous men to the house every summer. I know that doesn't sound like a good thing, but it really was. Every time I caught one of them trying to sneak a peek at Diana, I would force them to do my chores as punishment. So, I basically had a butler to do my least favorite jobs all summer.

"Hi, my name is Wendy Yang!" A cheery young Asian woman greeted me, "Is this Charlotte Ladris?"

I nodded.

"And are you Diana's grandmother?" Wendy wondered.

"No, I'm her mother's nurse, Agatha Eustace," I introduced myself.

"Oops, sorry!" Wendy exclaimed, "I just wanted to tell you that you're going to have to walk along the barrier for a while. Diana's hanging out in the desert for some reason."

"Thanks for the information," I replied.

"No problem," Wendy replied, "Oh, can you ask her if she knows what happened to my daughter, Taylor?"

"I'll try to remember," I promised.

"Thanks a million! You're gonna need these if you actually want to talk to her," Wendy informed me handing over a lime green notebook and a pink gel pen."

I pushed Charlotte's wheelchair around the anomaly for about fifteen minutes until I found Diana. When she saw us, Diana grabbed a large stick and ran over to the barrier. After she reached us, Diana used the stick to write something in the sand. It was a little bit hard to tell what she'd written, but I think it said _oh my god, you're still alive._

_**I could say the same thing about you.**_

_Yeah, you could._

_**So, how was your year?**_

Diana laughed at my joke. I had asked her exactly the same question at the beginning of every summer when she'd returned home from Coates.

_It was Hell. You have no idea what king of shit I've been dragged through._

_**Are you speaking figuratively or literally?**_

_Figuratively, but I probably look like I was being literal._

_**Why is that? Did everybody decide to stop showering? I know children don't like baths, but I thought that had some standards.**_

_My ex-boyfriend turned off all the power in the town._

This boy didn't seem like much of a catch, but Diana had inserted the prefix ex with a carrot which lead me to believe she wasn't completely over this boy. He must've been to the one to call it off. I didn't want to ask her that directly, since it was probably a touchy subject. I decided to find out more about this boy, in hopes that she'd tell me without me having to ask.

_**Why did he do that?**_

_It's a long story._

_**I have time.**_

_I'm writing with a stick. I can't exactly give you a novel._

_**I guess you're right. It would be nice to get some sort of explanation, though. **_

_Fine. He did it because he was a sick twisted evil creep. _

_**Did you break up with him for that?**_

_Eventually._

_**What else happened to you?**_

_I don't want to talk about it._

_**Please tell me, it could help.**_

_Why the hell should I? You're not my mom, you're just some old lady who pretends to be her on Facebook. _

_**I take care of your mother, you should be grateful for that.**_

_Why? It's not like she ever gave a damn about me._

_**You don't know that.**_

_Neither do you. You just know the woman you made up._

_**Well, I have to make a lot of assumptions about her life and opinions.**_

_You treat her like a human doll, it's creepy!_

_**It's not creepy to care for somebody else. You might want to try some time, Diana.**_

_I have. I took care of my boyfriend when he was in a coma. I took care of a girl named Penny when she broke her legs. I gave a little boy CPR and saved his life. And do you know what I'm doing right now?_

_**What?**_

_Taking care of my daughter._

My mouth fell open as I dropped my notebook in shock.

_That's right, Aggie, your living Barbie doll is a grandma now._


	9. The Sisters of a Superhero

**A/N: This chapter is all about Brianna's family, the Kelley/Fisks. It's very different from the rest because it's from the point of view of one of Brianna's half-sisters. The grammar is supposed to be terrible because she's only four years old.**

I looked over at my identical twin sister, Christie. We had auburn hair that came from daddy's brown hair and mommy's red hair. We were both short and skinny. Her eyes even had the same blue sparkleys in them as mine. I had another sister too, but I hadn't seen her in a really, really, really long time. But today mommy said we got to see Brianna.

We hadn't thought that daddy wouldn't want to come. He wasn't Brianna's real daddy, he was just her step daddy. She always broke all of his rules, which she called "stupid." He came anyway, though. I was happy about that and I think Christie was too.

"There she is, Janelle," my mom whispered in my ear.

She pointed at a girl inside the anomaly. Even though she was different, my sister still had the same hair color. She called it strawberry blonde. It was hard to tell she was Brianna. She was dirty and really super skinny.

"What do you want to say to Brianna?" Daddy asked.

"I dunno," I said, "Hi?"

"Okay," Daddy said back, "How about you, Christie?"

"Tell her about my piano recital!" Christie said in her outside voice. It was okay since she was outside.

"Alright," Daddy said.

He wrote something on a piece of paper. Brianna wrote something really fast. No, really super fast. Super really super-duper really fast!

"Wowzer kapowzer!" Christie and I shouted at the same time. Wowzer kapowzer was our thing that we said.

"Is our sister a super hero?" Christie asked.

"We'll ask her," Mommy said.

"Yay!" me and Christie cheered.

Brianna wrote down her answer so fast! It was less than a second!

"Well, girls," Mommy started to say, "Your sister is in fact a super hero, and she wants you to call her The Breeze."

"Now, Amber, do we really want to tell the girls their sister is a superhero?" Daddy asked mommy.

"Well, that's exactly what she is, isn't it?" Mommy asked him back.

"I guess you have a point, but that's not a term we can just throw around," Daddy said, "What happens when they go to school and tell the whole class that their sister is a superhero?"

"The kids will be impressed and their teacher will know exactly what their talking about," Mommy said.

The Breeze started writing something fast again.

"Girls, Brianna," Daddy started to say.

"It's The Breeze!" We said. Mommy and Daddy said it was called correcting when you said things like that. They told us not to do it, but they did it all the time. It must be one of those things only grownups can do.

"Yes, that's right. The Breeze wanted to know if you'd like to hear about her arch-nemesis," Daddy said.

Me and Christie looked at each other with lots of happy on our faces.

"Yes we do!" I said.

"Tell us, tell us! Please, oh please, oh please, oh pretty please!" Christie added.

"Alright," Daddy said. He wrote in his notebook again and held it up.

The Breeze wrote fast again.

"Five seconds! It was only five seconds!" I shouted.

"No, it was seven! I counted!" Christie shouted back.

"Nuh-uh! I'm right! I counted better!" I said in my yelly voice.

"I counted better!" Christie yelled.

"I counted better!" I yelled.

"I counted best!" Christie shouted.

"Stop fighting!" Daddy shouted too.

"If you don't be quiet you won't get to hear about Brianna's arch enemy," Mommy said.

"It's The Breeze!" Christie and I yelled together.

"Are you done fighting?" mommy asked.

"We promise!" Christie shouted.

"Super promise!" I said like an echo.

"Okay, she says that her arch enemy is fifteen year old boy named Drake Merwin," Mommy told us like it was in a bedtime story, "He has sandy blonde hair, cold gray eyes, and the strangest left arm you'll ever see. It looks like a big red tentacle. It's so long that he has to wrap it around his waist, so that it doesn't drag on the ground. When his arm isn't twisted around him, Drake uses it like a whip to hurt innocent children."

"Do we really need to be telling our daughters this?" Daddy asked.

"Brianna's living it! I think they have a right to know!" Mommy said to answer his question.

"IT'S THE BREEZE!" me and Christie screamed at the top of our lungs.

People stared. Mommy did the shushy finger. Christie and I didn't talk after that for a couple of seconds.

"Um…can you please keep telling the Drake story?" Christie asked in her super-duper quiet hushy whisper.

"Only if you two aren't getting scared," Mommy said.

"We're not! We're not!" Both of us said back.

"Alright, now where was I?" Mommy asked herself, "Oh yes. I had just explained the whip arm. That's not the only thing that Drake can do when he's fighting the Breeze, though."

"What else can he do?" I asked.

"He can turn into a sweet girl who's about your sister's age named Brittney," Mommy said, "She's actually easier to fight, but nobody wants to fight her."

"Why?" Christie asked.

"Brittney is very nice, unlike Drake who's very mean," Mommy said to us, "Most people forget that Brittney can turn back into Drake at any minute and don't feel the need to fight her."

"But not The Breeze, right?" I asked.

"No, Christie," Mommy said, "The Breeze never forgets who Brittney really is."

"Does The Breeze always win like the heroes on TV?" Christie asked.

"No, not always," Mommy answered, "It's like Tic Tac Toe. Sometimes the Breeze wins, others she loses. Most of the time it's just a tie, but she'll always be back for another game. You can count on that."

"Mommy? Daddy?" I asked both my parents, "When is The Breeze gonna come home?"

**A/N: So, what did you think of this very different style of chapter? Did you like it? As always, I'd love to hear your opinions on how the characters acted. Do you agree with Brianna's mother's decision to tell her four year olds about Drake, or was her step dad right to want to shelter his daughters from the evils of the FAYZ?**


	10. Daddy's Little Healer

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my fabulous father. I may not be the best at showing it most of the time, but I really do like him. Even though I'm getting older and seems like we're distanced sometimes, the little girl who used to idolize him is still inside of me. Now, without further ado, please enjoy the second to last chapter of Words Spoken Silently.**

"You realize she's gonna make fun of that shirt, right?" my wife, Deborah, asked me referencing my stained and wrinkled Gandalf T-shirt.

"I know, that's why I wore it," I responded.

Debby shot me a look of confusion.

"I just want to have everything be the exact same way it had been before we sent her away," I explained.

"Only you would actually want our daughter to mock you, Murray," Deborah told me as she gave me one of her infamous eye rolls.

When we were coming close to the anomaly barrier, we were greeted by a perky Asian woman who was dressed like a middle school girl. She wore a tank top, a sweatshirt, yoga pants, and a floral scarf.

"Hi, my name's Wendy Yang," the female (I wasn't really sure whether it would be proper to call her a woman or a girl) greeted me, "Who are you, and more importantly who's your kid?"

"My name is Murray, this is my wife Deborah, and we're here to see our daughter Lana," I answered.

"Oh my god! You're the Healer's parents?" Wendy asked us like our daughter was a celebrity, "I'll have somebody call her down so she can talk to you. You're probably gonna have to wait here for a while, but we there's lots of other parents here that you can talk to if you want to pass the time."

I was impressed by how organized this woman was. She looked so unprofessional, yet she was on top of everything.

"Thanks for everything," Deborah said to Wendy, "Not just that you're doing for us, but for this whole group. You gave us an excuse to hop on a plane and fly over here to see our daughter."

"Where are you two from?" Wendy inquired.

"Las Vegas," I answered.

"Awesome!" Wendy exclaimed, "I always wanted to go, but my husband has never let me. He was sure that I would blow our life savings on slot machines and male strippers."

"Alright then," I replied, not sure how to react to that.

After about an hour of waiting, Lana was finally at the wall. She had brought along Patrick and a smiley boy who seemed be from somewhere in Asia. In her hands she held a notebook that read _Thanks a lot for sending me to Perdido Beach. I've really lost weight._

The scowl on her face made me realize that wasn't even the least bit sincere about that statement.

_**Well, how's it been for Patrick?**_

_Really, dad? Really?_

_**Glad to see you haven't changed.**_

_Actually, I like to think I've changed a lot. I have a new boyfriend who actually knows how to treat me right. I'm less shallow. I've been scarred for life, but I've gotten through it. Mentally, I'm a lot stronger now. Oh, and I can heal major injuries with just the touch of my hand._

_**Never mind.**_

"Honey, can I have our notebook now?" Deborah wondered.

"Sure, honey," I replied.

_**Is this lovely young man your new boyfriend?**_

_Yes, mom. His name is Sanjit._

_**I feel like I've seen him before!**_

_Well, he was adopted by Jennifer Brattle and Todd Chance._

_**So he's famous, cute, rich, and a good boy? Sanjit Brattle-Chance, please propose to our daughter right now!**_

Sanjit and Lana went into a quick conversation, which ended in Sanjit getting down on one knee. I really hoped he was joking. Just because he was a respectable boy, it didn't mean I was ready to wall my fifteen year old daughter.

_Thanks for giving him ideas, mom._

_**No, those are good ideas. Very, very, very good ideas.**_

"Okay, honey," I said to Debby, "You've officially lost your notebook privileges."

_**Have you made any other friends besides Sanjit?**_

_Well, he has a bunch of adopted siblings._

_**Anyone else, Lana?**_

_Not really. I hung out with this guy Quinn for a while, but that didn't work out very well. We don't talk anymore._

_**What did he do? Should I be concerned?**_

_No, we just weren't very compatible._

_**Okay, so you're still anti-social. Have you at least learned how to smile?**_

_Shut up, dad._

_**I'll take that as a no.**_

Sanjit nodded in over exaggerated agreement from behind the barrier.

_**So, what's the craziest thing that happened to you in the anomaly?**_

_It's a tie between giving a psychopath a whip-hand and getting possessed by an alien mine virus that messed with my brain and made me shoot a totally innocent boy._

_**Wait, that's not why you and Quinn don't hang out anymore, is it?**_

_No, the guy who I shot is named Edilio. He's totally fine now. I healed him, and he totally understands that I didn't want to kill him. We're cool._

_**Well, that's good. Now, explain this whip-handed psychopath.**_

_His name is Drake. He's a sadistic creep. The same alien mine virus that made me shoot Edilio possessed me so I'd heal his arm. When it combined its powers with mine, we ended up giving him a long red tentacle that he uses to whip people instead of a real arm. I know it sounds crazy, but you have to believe me._

_**Of course we do, honey.**_

Debby nodded in agreement.

_You do?_

_**Lana. Where did you get your name?**_

_Lana from Superman and Arwen from Lord of the Rings. Why does that matter?_

_**It matters because we're geeks. Your mother and I met at Comic-Con. We named you after two fictional characters. We jump at the chance to believe in stuff like giant bubbles, whip arms, and alien mine viruses. In fact, I'd think it was all pretty cool if it wasn't putting my little girl in danger. But it is, and I need to know that you're safe.**_

_Trust me, dad. I can take care of myself._


	11. Epilogue

**A/N: Well, this is it. The end of Words Spoken Silently. I've had a great time writing this story and I'd like to thank you for the views, reviews, and favorites. If it weren't for you, this story would just be a one-shot about Penny's mom. I'm so glad that you encourage me to extend this. You've given me nothing but support and fabulous reviews for. Please hug your parents when you're done reading this story, because this story is desiccated to all of the parents (and/or guardians) who love their kids.**

My name is Janice Xiong. When the Perdido Beach anomaly started, I was too drunk to care about what was going to happen to my middle daughter, Penny. When it ended, I was completely sober and working to regain the custody of my other two daughters, Rose and Dahlia. I was happy for the families that had been reunited when the wall came down, but it was a bittersweet moment. I knew that Penny wouldn't be coming back. I would never even get to know my own daughter. That was the kind of realization I would've drowned in alcohol a couple of months ago, but now I'm better than that. Even though I'll never get to know Penny, I have two other wonderful daughters who are still with me today.

My name is Anthony Lennox. When the Perdido Beach anomaly started, I was napping on the couch. Being a mail carrier takes up a good chunk of the hours that most people use for sleeping. When it ended, I was in a therapy session. My phone buzzed with a text from my wife that said the _Perdido Beach Anomaly just came down_. I felt a pang of jealousy aimed towards the people who were about to be reunited with their children. I would never be able to do that, or eat at Panda Express ever again.

My name is Wendy Yang. When the Perdido Beach Anomaly started, I was getting a manicure. When it came down, I was standing right outside of it with a sign clutched in between my French tips. _**What happened to Taylor Yang? **_That question remained unanswered for about five months. My husband, Ryan, and I had gone camping in hopes of getting more in touch with nature. We hadn't even known that the forest we were camping in had once been part of the FAYZ. Then we saw her. She was made of gold, but she was still undeniably our daughter. I finally got the story I had been searching for. I tried to share it with the world but everyone wrote me off as a crazy parent who couldn't deal with the death of her own daughter. Still, there were enough believers to give her the same legendary status as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.

My name is Connie Temple. When the Perdido Beach Anomaly started I was writing in my diary. When I was watching Eat Pray Love. My phone buzzed with some sort of alert. I absent mindedly picked it up, not expecting it to be about anything important. I couldn't have been any more wrong about that. I was going to see both of my sons. I was wrong about that. Caine had not only died, but he'd apparently been responsible for every bad thing that had happened in the FAYZ. I guess my intuition had always been correct.

My name is Daniel Soren. When the Perdido Beach Anomaly started, I was at work. When, it ended I was also at work. You didn't get to be rich by staying home all day. I always known there was something wrong with my adopted son Caine. I just never knew what. When I heard his letter being read on the news, I finally learned exactly what it was. Everything.

My name is Amelia Stanton. When the Perdido Beach Anomaly started, I was trying to figure out what I should make for dinner. When it ended, I was browsing the internet for a good therapist. I know that my son, Drake, didn't want one, but that didn't stop me from looking. I got side track and ended up at a news website where I saw that the FAYZ wall had come down. Unfortunately, my son, Drake hadn't survived. After hearing the stories about what he had done, people started questioning me and his step-father as parents. Nosy people starting coming over to our house. One day, after my husband had given me a particularly brutal beating. I did what I had been afraid of doing for almost the entirety of my second marriage. I told the woman, a curious neighbor from down the street, about every time that my husband had turned on me with psychical violence. In the end, my current husband ended up being arrested by my ex-husband, the sheriff, for domestic abuse.

My name is Agatha Eustace. When the Perdido Beach Anomaly started, I was making tuna noodle casserole. When it ended, I was knitting a sage green scarf. I didn't have a connection with any of the children who had been trapped in the anomaly, but I was connected with one of their mothers. I'm the full time caretaker of Charlotte Ladris and also a registered nurse. I try to help her make the best out of her current state, in which she's barely able to function. I am not however, a baby sitter. I wasn't about to take care of Charlotte's bratty teenage daughter, Diana, especially after finding out about everything that she had been part of in the FAYZ. I couldn't live with myself if I spent the rest of my working life catering to the every whim if somebody who had been so close to that overly confident maniac, Caine Soren, and his monstrous lackey, Drake Merwin.

My name is Janelle Fisk. When the Perdido Beach Anomaly thingy started, I was at pre-school. I think I was doing colors. When it was over, I was at pre-school again. It's what four year olds do. I was really super happy about The Breeze coming home and teaching me and Christie how to be superheroes just like her! That didn't get to happen, though. The Breeze isn't gonna come home. She went up to heaven instead.

My name is Murray Lazar. When the Perdido Beach Anomaly started, I can't actually remember what I was doing. I don't remember what I was doing on 9/11 either. I just not very good at remembering things like that. I remember how I felt, though. I was worried, I had no idea what was going to happen to my daughter, Lana. I didn't even know if she was still alive. There was always something to remind me of her, to make me worry about what was going inside the anomaly. Even though I don't usually remember what I was doing on important dates, I remembered exactly what I did the day the anomaly came down, though. I was buying a one way plane ticket from California to Las Vegas for an unaccompanied minor.


End file.
